Archive for appeal

Kelly Rindfleisch is a former Scott Walker aide who was accused of working on campaign business on the job back in 2010; it was during her government stint as Walker’s deputy chief of staff when Scotty was Milwaukee County executive.

Gov. Scott Walker and his top campaign and Milwaukee County aides were named Monday as part of a team that routinely commingled political and official county business.

The disclosures came during the sentencing of a former aide to Walker during his last year as Milwaukee County executive. Kelly M. Rindfleisch, 44, was sentenced by Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Hansher to six months in jail and three years of probation on a single felony count of misconduct in office. The judge stayed the sentence pending Rindfleisch's appeal to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals or the state Supreme Court.

In a lengthy presentation during Rindfleisch's sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf displayed numerous emails between Rindfleisch and key members of Walker's campaign staff in which they discussed how to manage county government in 2010, while Walker was a candidate for governor. [...]

In a new development, the prosecutor made clear - without saying it was illegal - that top Walker campaign officials influenced, even directed, county strategy.

It's not yet clear whether Scotty Walker is under investigation or could be charged, and the investigation is still open.

Well now some of that confusion will hopefully be eliminated in time for the election, and voters will know in plenty of time that they can vote early, as has been the case for years.

Remember, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted once said this:

“The later you make a decision, the more likely it is to cause a problem … Time is of the essence and confusion is dangerous.”

You'd think election officials would be in favor of more Americans voting, not reducing the numbers. But if you're a Republican, specifically Husted, you know early voting affects Democratic voters favorably; in their minds, democracy is trumped by politics and winning at all costs, so the fewer early voters, the better.

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Ohio's request to curtail early voting in the state leading up to the November 6 presidential election.

Ohio, critical to the election hopes of Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, began early in-person voting earlier this month but planned to cut it off on November 2, the Friday before the election, except for members of the military.

Rachel Maddow provides the back story in the above video. The other shoe is dropping, as expected, and the Ohio (Republican) secretary of state Jon Husted has now said he will appeal a ruling by a federal court that overturned previous restrictions on early voting.

And he took his sweet time, which of course makes it much more difficult and confusing to Ohio voters.

Per the ruling, Ohioans are able cast ballots in the three days before election day, but Husted kept everyone waiting and wondering whether or not he would appeal that decision. He was in no rush.

Husted once said this:

"The later you make a decision, the more likely it is to cause a problem ... Time is of the essence and confusion is dangerous."

The pressure is now on, and Husted knows it. He's making sure any final decisions will come in as late in the game as possible, causing further chaos resulting in fewer Democratic-leaning (black) Ohio residents having access to early voting.

After all, longer lines that deter people who are unable to spend endless hours waiting to vote benefit him and his GOP buddies.

(CNN) – Jon Husted said he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the case. On Friday, a federal appeals court sided with the Obama campaign in its protest against a ban on voting in the final weekend–Saturday, Sunday, and Monday–before Election Day.

In a statement Tuesday, Husted called Friday's ruling an "unprecedented intrusion by the federal courts into how states run elections."

"Because of its impact on all 50 states as to who and how elections will be run in America we are asking the Supreme Court to step in and allow Ohioans to run Ohio elections," the statement read. [...]

The circuit court said the injunction does not, however, require local election offices to be open for early voting during the weekend before the election, but said the injunction "return[s] discretion to local boards of elections to allow all Ohio voters to vote" that Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Of course, that decision still leaves it up to boards that could very well decide against early voting. And now our lovely SCOTUS is being asked to make a final decision.